I am in the process of buying a really nice RV8 (hopefully if all goes well I will close by the end of the week). I needed some transition training and Bruce was recommended. I have only about 3 hours of tail wheel, Beaver, Otter and a Cub all about an hour each.
Some background on me, not to brag on myself as I feel a bit of it was timing on my part, but to qualify my remarks on Bruce.
I began flight school in the T-34C as a young naval aviator to be, went to the T-45C, then flew Harriers. I had a boat deployment, dirt deployment, racked up the quals and went on to be an instructor at the RAG. From there I went to Naval Test Pilot School; prior to starting TPS I got some training from PIT USAF IPs in the T-38, and some T6 training from the Navy. At TPS I got to fly things from a mig15 to a super hornet, some tail draggers, gliders, helos, warbirds, etc. By far some of the best training I had was at TPS, we got to go touch airplanes and really learn about aero, stuff that wasn't typically taught in a text book or a lecture hall. Went on to test the F-35; trained by some very experienced test pilots. Got trained in the Legacy and Super hornet by the Navy. I left the Marine Corps early, went to American got trained and flew the bus for a bit; then to the guard to fly RC-26, received initial training on that from Flight Safety and more from the guard; now I am a Flight Test Captain at United typed in the Bus, 737, and 756.
So onto Bruce. I asked for transition training in the RV8, but needed a tailwheel endorsement as well. So today we started in his cub. Prior to that he insisted on giving me extensive training on the ground. Through the years of training, I knew to approach with an open mind. When I pulled up I saw on older gentlemen, looked like he might have been someone who had been bailing hay or working on a fence line. His place wasn't anything fancy (but I'd love to have his setup with all planes included). I got a handshake and welcome, then we walked into the hangar and I really can't tell you when precisely the ground school started. We started with some casual conversation about my background, some other things, and it was probably 3 to 5 minutes after "class" had officially started before I realized he was teaching me. All the things I have been taught about how to instruct and getting folks attention, get them interested he did so eloquently to me that I didn't even notice he had done it and had my undivided attention; it didn't even seem like he tried. I kept wanting to open my backpack and get my notebook out to write all the good information down, but I wasn't willing to miss anything he was saying.
So onto what I think was 2.5-3 hours of ground school; I know I showed up at 0900 and it was about 1300 when I left and we flew for an hour. I couldn't tell you how long ground training actually was, it felt like 30 minutes at best; again because I couldn't stop listening I wanted more. Didn't feel short because of content, just his delivery and method of explaining things made sense. I am not the expert in aviation; but I have had a bit of training and experience, he was dead on accurate with his theory and science. He explained things with physics and aerodynamics, but in a way that was easy to understood with no fluff. His instruction on how things worked was as good if not better than some of the ground training I had at Test Pilot School; far superior to any other military or civilian ground school I have had. Had he not told me his level of education, based on his instruction I would have assumed he had been to at least grad school, instructed for most of his life, and been involved with some higher level flight training program.
Onto the flight in the cub. He has a nice setup for the cub. It was a bit of a gusty day. Instruction in the plane was also outstanding. He used great commands, kept my attention, gave correction when needed, and pointed out when things were going well to boost confidence. It wasn't long and things clicked and were going well. I still had a tendency to over correct some and work harder than I needed to, as he told me I would. But he kept me improving until we were done.
Debrief was also outstanding. Covered what I did well, covered where I could improve. He also showed how humble he was again, and took credit for my over controlling and said he should have said some different things in ground school.
Bruce is a very talented and smart man (though he will never admit it), and well worth the trip (luckily he is 45 minutes from me). I would have taken vacation time, paid for the plane ticket and hotel knowing what I know now. I haven't even got in the 8 yet, plan is Wednesday, but I can tell already this is probably going to be one of if not the best place it get RV8 transition training.
I'll update as I get more training....
Some background on me, not to brag on myself as I feel a bit of it was timing on my part, but to qualify my remarks on Bruce.
I began flight school in the T-34C as a young naval aviator to be, went to the T-45C, then flew Harriers. I had a boat deployment, dirt deployment, racked up the quals and went on to be an instructor at the RAG. From there I went to Naval Test Pilot School; prior to starting TPS I got some training from PIT USAF IPs in the T-38, and some T6 training from the Navy. At TPS I got to fly things from a mig15 to a super hornet, some tail draggers, gliders, helos, warbirds, etc. By far some of the best training I had was at TPS, we got to go touch airplanes and really learn about aero, stuff that wasn't typically taught in a text book or a lecture hall. Went on to test the F-35; trained by some very experienced test pilots. Got trained in the Legacy and Super hornet by the Navy. I left the Marine Corps early, went to American got trained and flew the bus for a bit; then to the guard to fly RC-26, received initial training on that from Flight Safety and more from the guard; now I am a Flight Test Captain at United typed in the Bus, 737, and 756.
So onto Bruce. I asked for transition training in the RV8, but needed a tailwheel endorsement as well. So today we started in his cub. Prior to that he insisted on giving me extensive training on the ground. Through the years of training, I knew to approach with an open mind. When I pulled up I saw on older gentlemen, looked like he might have been someone who had been bailing hay or working on a fence line. His place wasn't anything fancy (but I'd love to have his setup with all planes included). I got a handshake and welcome, then we walked into the hangar and I really can't tell you when precisely the ground school started. We started with some casual conversation about my background, some other things, and it was probably 3 to 5 minutes after "class" had officially started before I realized he was teaching me. All the things I have been taught about how to instruct and getting folks attention, get them interested he did so eloquently to me that I didn't even notice he had done it and had my undivided attention; it didn't even seem like he tried. I kept wanting to open my backpack and get my notebook out to write all the good information down, but I wasn't willing to miss anything he was saying.
So onto what I think was 2.5-3 hours of ground school; I know I showed up at 0900 and it was about 1300 when I left and we flew for an hour. I couldn't tell you how long ground training actually was, it felt like 30 minutes at best; again because I couldn't stop listening I wanted more. Didn't feel short because of content, just his delivery and method of explaining things made sense. I am not the expert in aviation; but I have had a bit of training and experience, he was dead on accurate with his theory and science. He explained things with physics and aerodynamics, but in a way that was easy to understood with no fluff. His instruction on how things worked was as good if not better than some of the ground training I had at Test Pilot School; far superior to any other military or civilian ground school I have had. Had he not told me his level of education, based on his instruction I would have assumed he had been to at least grad school, instructed for most of his life, and been involved with some higher level flight training program.
Onto the flight in the cub. He has a nice setup for the cub. It was a bit of a gusty day. Instruction in the plane was also outstanding. He used great commands, kept my attention, gave correction when needed, and pointed out when things were going well to boost confidence. It wasn't long and things clicked and were going well. I still had a tendency to over correct some and work harder than I needed to, as he told me I would. But he kept me improving until we were done.
Debrief was also outstanding. Covered what I did well, covered where I could improve. He also showed how humble he was again, and took credit for my over controlling and said he should have said some different things in ground school.
Bruce is a very talented and smart man (though he will never admit it), and well worth the trip (luckily he is 45 minutes from me). I would have taken vacation time, paid for the plane ticket and hotel knowing what I know now. I haven't even got in the 8 yet, plan is Wednesday, but I can tell already this is probably going to be one of if not the best place it get RV8 transition training.
I'll update as I get more training....